Pokémon Sun and Moon reborn
by TheLastSnowflake
Summary: Stephen, the son of Ash Ketchum, embarks on his own journey across the Alola region to become a Pokémon trainer. My own re-telling of Pokemon Sun and Moon-along with some dark twists and surprises along the way. Exported directly from my Wattpad.
1. Chapter 1 : New beginnings

Pokemon sun and moon fanfiction

Chapter 1

New beginnings

It was a fairly cloudy day in the Kanto region, the wind was soft and the sun was lazily peering over the huge mountains of clouds, Pallet town lay surrounded by leaves from the now bare trees that swayed in the slow wind. In one little house in a specific area, I sat in my room. Well, what was once my room.

Oh yeah, forgot to introduce myself, name's Stephen, Stephen Ketchum, that's right, my dad is Ash Ketchum himself, only that I never really knew him, he just left me and mom when I was a baby.

My room was almost bare apart from the luscious red paint on the walls, which was my favourite colour. Only my bed, desk and my computer were still to be packed away, several boxes of my belongings lay piled neatly on the floor.

Me and my mom were moving from Kanto into this region called Alola.

The computer was switched on, with my facecam perched on the top. I was getting a video message from the Pokemon professor of Alola himself, professor Kukui.

The connection was slow, as Alola was on the other side of the world from Kanto, but eventually his smiling face transmitted onto the screen.

He adjusted the camera lightly, muttering to himself. 'Hang on now, gimme just a sec…'

The camera tilted slightly and he waved at me, I waved back.

'Hey there! Good morning!' He greeted cheerfully, 'so the day has finally come that you're moving to Alola!'

'Yup, you could definitely say that.' I replied.

'Alola is a region made up of several islands,' he explained, 'that could be the reason the region is chock full of nothin' but rare pokemon, Yeah!'

He held up a pokeball to the screen and continued, 'there's no shortage of cool pokemon out here in Alola, either! Such mysterious creatures!'

He threw the pokeball into the air where it exploded into a shower of blue sparks as a tiny brown puppy-like pokemon landed in front of the camera, I gasped, I had never seen that before.

He continued, 'You find 'em all over, in the grass, in the caves, in the sky and the sea. Here in Alola we love our pokemon, and we depend on them heaps, too. Some of us even battle with them, if we even call ourselves pokemon trainers!'

He was interrupted by the puppy pokemon, as it started to nuzzle him and wagged its tail furiously.

'Rockruff!' he laughed, 'can you wait until I'm done talkin' to play?!'

The pokemon, which I now knew as Rockruff, jumped off his lap and disappeared from view.

'Alright, I gotta ask you some questions about yourself so I can introduce you to everybody!' he said. 'Alright then, I'll let you spell out your name for me.'

'Stephen,' I told him, 'spelt with a 'ph'.'

'Alright! You go by Stephen, Yeah?' he asked.

I nodded.

'10-4, good buddy! I'll let everybody out here know you're on your way! Stephen!'

As if on cue, a small red and black bird pokemon flew down into view and hovered in the air, while Rockruff leapt back onto Kukui's shoulder.

'Yeah, that's a name that hits you like a thunderbolt outta the sky! Woo! Can't wait to see you in person then, cousin!'

'Cousin?' I asked, confused that he was referring to me as a relative.

'Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you, here in Alola you refer to a friend as 'cousin', you'd better get used to it, cos you're gonna be hearing it a LOT!'

He waved and turned off the video chat.

I flipped through the magazine on my desk, which was a guide to Alola, just as I was reading, my mom called me.

'Stephen! Come help me with these boxes!'

'Coming!' I replied in an enthusiastic tone, I loved helping her out and spending time with her, she was more like a caring big sister than a mother and she was lovely.

As I ran to help my mom carry the boxes, the wind blew through my open window and lifted the pages and flipped them to an article on an organization called Aether foundation.

…

 _Meanwhile in Alola..._

It would've been incorrect to call the building a building, as it was technically a large floating mini-island. But here it was that Aether built their base.

Two floors up from the docking area, the conservation area lay.

A young girl, of maybe only 11 years old, was running through the paved pathways.

She has long blonde hair flowing behind her and pure emerald eyes, she was dressed entirely in white, a plain white dress, white stockings, white shoes and a huge white hat. A cylindrical bag was slung over her shoulder.

She was being chased and she knew it.

Two workers, both in their 30's pursued her.

'Hey! You girl! Come back here!'

'You'll never hear the end of this if you don't stop right now!'

She barely listened, only focusing on getting out of the place, she ran into a junction where three paths linked.

There was another guard there.

She was surrounded.

She looked in every direction in despair, looking for some wait out.

'Gotcha now, princess! No way out now is there, missus!' the guards snarled.

Just as she was about to give up hope, her bag started to tremble, blue light leaked out from the top and engulfed her entirely, there was a flash.

Then an explosion.

And she was gone.

As the guards stared, dumbfounded, at the now empty space where the girl stood just seconds earlier. They didn't know what to do.

But neither did her.

And she never knew that the next few hours of her life would be the most important times of her life.

But nor did I.

 _To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2 : New friends already

Chapter 2

New friends already

The plane journey was long, I think I slept for most of it, when we arrived in Alola we took the taxi from the airport to the outskirts of Hau'Oli city, where our new house was. I helped my mom unpack our stuff and explored our new house, while trying to walk off the cramp from a six-hour plane journey. It was fairly large and modern, with a porch on the east wing and a garage on the west. The interior had a large living space with a kitchen area and a dining space. Our two rooms were positioned at the back, the one the left for my mom, the one on the right for me.

As soon as I finished helping unpack, I went into my new room and collapsed onto the quarter sized bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke up to my mom's Meowth (which she kept as a family pet) pawing at my face.

''Morning fella.'' I muttered sleepily as I stood up and stretched.

There was a whole box of clothes packed neatly on floor, I picked a black and white striped T-shirt, black cargo shorts, blue trainers and a black baseball cap. I donned my trusty black backpack from when I first attended summer Pokémon camp in Kanto. I opened my door and stepped into the living space, the porch door was open, and my mom was out on the porch with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Morning mom," I greeted cheerily as I stepped out onto the porch.

She was wearing a white T-shirt, a yellow flowered dress and sandals, her long brown hair was tied neatly behind her and she had a pair of sunglasses perched on top.

"Morning sweetie!" She replied cheerfully, "You were out like a light, weren't you? You ought to be full of energy by now!"

"Yes, I've mostly recovered by now." I told her.

"By the way, professor Kukui said he'd be visiting us in a few minutes, you two have met before right?"

"Yup." I nodded.

The doorbell rang, as if on cue.

"That'll be professor Kukui then, why don't you go let him in, Stephen?"

I turned around and entered the living area.

The door was already opened and professor Kukui stood there at the entrance. He was quite tall, with olive brown skin and a white lab coat draped over his bare chest. He was wearing a white cap and grey shorts and sandals, his long hair was tied into a bun and he also had a pair of shades.

"Hey there Stephen! Good to finally see you in person, cousin!" He greeted cheerily.

"Nice to meet you too." I grinned.

My mom came back into the living space from the porch and greeted professor Kukui.

"Good morning professor!"She smiled.

"Nice to meetchya, Mrs Ketchum." he replied, "you're from the Kanto region, right?"

"Indeed." My mom agreed.

"See, I once spent time their to train and get stronger, but those Kanto gym leaders proved me wrong!" He laughed to himself at the memory.

"Say, Stephen, you wanna come see some Alolan pokémon with me? I heard the island's Kahuna is giving away some starter pokémon!"

"Really?" I gasped. I had never actually trained a pokémon before and right now I would've loved to. "Can I go, mom?" I turned towards my mother and asked her.

"Of course, Sweetie! I knew you'd be pumped to meet some Alolan pokémon!" She replied.

"Looks good to me, I'll give you some time to prepare yourself and then we'll head up the path to Iki town to find the Kahuna!" professor Kukui told me.

He strolled out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Take care, sweetie! Have fun!" my mom said as she pulled me into a hug and kissed me on my forehead.

"Thanks! See you later!" I replied as I walked out of the house.

The heat was searing and unbearable, I recoiled in shock from the sunlight, I tried to see the road in from of me through my tightly closed eyes.

"That heat getting to you cousin?" a voice came from behind me, it was Kukui, "I say we go THIS way to Iki town!" he laughed.

"Sorry,"I said with a sheepish grin, "Kanto isn't this hot and I'm not used to it."

…

Eventually we got to Iki town, as we walked up the hill I saw several trainers with some pokémon that I recognised, but some I didn't.

We got to a small village filled with houses built from dark wooden planks, people were strolling around and doing all kinds of stuff, hanging up washing, taking pokémon for walks, training.

"This," Kukui announced, "Is Iki town!"

"Very nice." I noted.

"I'll just go and find the Kahuna, you can take a walk if you want, meet some locals, see some new pokémon. Just meet me here in 5 minutes!"

"Sure." I replied.

As I strolled through the little village, I noticed a young girl, maybe of 11, dressed entirely in white. She had a long sheet of smooth blonde hair and a white dress and stockings. A large bag was slung over her shoulder. She seemed to be talking to herself.

"Really? YOU want to go to the ruins? I don't know what you hope to find up there..."

I was curious and about to call out to her when she suddenly started walking towards a gateway towards the north of the village. I decided to follow her to see what all this was about, whilst trying to keep quiet.

We travelled through a twisting turning bend dotted with old statues with faces painted on them, the pathway was paved with small logs of wood. Every so often the girl would talk to whoever it was she was talking to earlier.

"You can't come out! We'll get in trouble if anyone sees you!"

We came to an old plank bridge draped over a raging waterfall dotted with sharp rocks at the ravine.

Without warning, her bag started to shake and tremble, it opened by itself and, before the girl could react, a pokémon flew out of it.

It was never like anything I've seen before, it was a tiny purple and blue cloud with two ear-like tendrils of mist at the sides. A golden ring-like skeleton bordered it's back.

It flew out and energetically jumped up and down in excitement, all the while shouting "Pew!".

"Ah! Nebby! No, come back here!" She screamed in surprise.

The pokémon was only focussed on crossing the bridge and ignored the girl. It hovered onto the middle of the bridge. "Pew!".

Just then, a squawking was heard overhead, as a flock of Spearow descended from the sky and started circling the pokémon hoping for easy prey.

The girl panicked and turned around, as soon as she saw me she jumped in fright almost as if she recognized me as an enemy. But she soon realized that I was a total stranger and frantically called for help.

"H-h-help me!" she stuttered.

"What's wrong?" I calmly took authority even though we were total strangers.

""Save Nebby! Those Spearow are attacking it! But...but I'm too afraid to go out there... My legs feel like they might give out..."

I maintained my calm authority. "I'll do what I can." I nodded.

Breaking into a run, I bolted across the wooden bridge. The old boards creaked and groaned in protest, I didn't know the bridge was unstable at certain points and nearly slipped several times. The spearow had spotted me and some were dive bombing me from above.

"Aah! Shoo! Off with you!" I yelled as several of them closed in on me and tried to rake me with their sharp talons or jab me with their razor-sharp beaks.

Eventually I got to the middle of the bridge where the pokémon lay shivering in fright. I jumped over it and got down on my elbows and knees in an attempt to shield it from the attacking spearow.

"Gotcha, little fella! Now just got to hold them off..." I began, however another spearow, much bigger than the others and probably the leader of the flock, honed in on me and slashed at my bare arm with its talons, drawing blood.

"Aargh!" I screamed, my arm was burning in pain. The girl behind me gasped in horror, but could only just watch helplessly.

The pokémon sheltering underneath me was at breaking point and started to emit a blue light. It was trying to get away but didn't dare leave the shelter of me.

There was an explosion of blue light.

And the bridge snapped.

I grabbed the pokémon and held it to my chest, feeling the air already whip past my face as I began my descent into the waterfall. There was a jagged rock right beneath me, as soon as I saw it all I could mutter was "Oh, this ain't good."

There was another flash.

A blazing trail of yellow sparks flew across the sky, what appeared to be a shooting star flew out of the sky, it was another pokémon. It had a skinny body with two large shield-like structures covering its arms, a large mop of spiky orange hair stuck out on its forehead.

The pokémon grabbed me by the collar and flew up onto the cliffside, dropped me and the pokémon down, and flew off into the distance without a single word.

"Oh... Oh, thank goodness! I didn't know what I'd do without you!" the girl exclaimed, "You tried to use your power again... didn't you? Oh, Nebby..." she now took to criticizing the pokémon. "You know what happened last time you used it. You couldn't move for ages after that. I don't want to see you like that again!" The pokémon bowed its head down and looked sad. Realizing that she had upset it, the girl took to comforting the pokémon instead. "No... I shouldn't say that. I'm sorry, Nebby. I know you were trying to save me that time. And I couldn't even help you in return..." She then noticed something sparkling at my feet. "What... What is that?" I bent down and picked it up, it was a sparkling gemstone, carved into a rhombus shape, with a large Z symbol engraved into it. "A sparkling stone? Those things are so rare!" She exclaimed, "It feels almost warm somehow... Anyway, P-please, forgive me... I am so grateful to you for helping us out of that dangerous spot. Thank you." she said.

"I did what was right." I nodded humbly, "Anyway, might I ask who you are?" I asked. She immediately changed the subject, "I think this stone should belong to you." She handed the stone to me. "Please... Don't tell anybody about this... About seeing Nebby... It's... it's a secret, OK?"

"Ok." I nodded.

She then turned towards me and asked "I know th-this might be a little hard to ask, but could you possibly see us back to town?"

"Of course!" I agreed.

So off we headed, back down the trail, walking beside who, very soon, was to be the most important person in my world.

But of course I didn't know that.

Not yet, at least.

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3 : My Starter

Chapter 3

My starter

When I walked with the girl back to Iki town, Kukui was there waiting for us.

"Hey! Stephen! Looks like you just missed the Kahuna! But looks like you also found my assistant! But just in case you haven't met already, this is my assistant, Lillie."

"O-oh yes, y-you can call me Lillie."she stuttered.

"Stephen," I stuck out my hand and she delicately shook it, "nice to meet you."

"I'll just let you two get along now, gotta let the Kahuna know you're here!" Kukui noted.

As Kukui strolled towards a large town hall, Lillie hastily reached into her bag and pulled out a bandage.

"H-here,"she help them towards me, "S-sorry for having to make you walk across such a dangerous bridge, here, let me help you with that."

She tore off a large strip of bandage and carefully wrapped it around my arm, where it'd been scratched by the Spearow earlier.

"It should heal in a few days." she assured caringly.

"Hey, thanks!" I said, "But why'd you carry bandages in your bag like that?"

"Oh, for Nebby,"she explained, "I-it often runs off and gets injured, I keep these in case I run out of potions."

"Clever, I suppose we all have our own little habits." I told her.

Just then Kukui came back, the Kahuna followed after him.

The Kahuna was quite tall, he immediately gave the impression of a sumo wrestler due to his long yellow coat, sandals and the white belt tied around his ample frame.

"Oh! So you must be Stephen, then!" he greeted, his voice was deep but friendly, he reached out his hand and I shook it. It felt more like I was having my arm ripped off, his strength was immense.

"I heard you just moved here from Kanto, is that right?" he asked.

"Yup." I nodded, rubbing my arm where he'd practically torn it out of its socket.

"Well, let me just say you are sure of a warm welcome, you'll soon adapt to life here in Alola!" he chuckled.

"Thanks, I believe that I will adjust very soon." I agreed.

"Anyway," the Kahuna clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "I presume Kukui led you here to receive your starter pokémon, then?"

I nodded.

"Very well! Come this way!" he turned towards a wooden stage built into the centre of the village square, he took out three pokéballs and threw them, all at once, towards the stage.

The was a blue flash as three pokémon I've never seen before landed gracefully onto the stage.

The first one was the grass type pokémon, it looked like a small brown owl with a bow tie. It looked at me and smiled as it turned its head 90 degrees.

"This," the Kahuna announced, "Is Rowlett, the grass owl pokémon. This little fella spends time gathering sunlight for energy and then attacks by firing its leaves embedded in its wings to attack!"

Rowlett chirped proudly and nodded.

The second pokémon was the fire type, it was a tiny black kitten with strands of red fur on its face and two red whiskers spouting from its face. I gave it a friendly smile and it smiled back.

"Moving on," the Kahuna said, "This is Litten, the fire cat pokémon, this feisty little one builds up fur in its stomach as it grooms itself and lights those hairballs on fire using a special oil in its fur to spit out and use as weapons!"

Litten stared curiously at me and purred.

The final pokémon was the water type, it was a little blue sea lion with a light blue fringed collar.

"Last but not least," the Kahuna informed, "This is Popplio, the sea lion pokémon! It's a bit of a show-off, but it works very hard in battle!"

Popplio nodded proudly and did a backflip. "Bwark!"

"So," the Kahuna announced, "the time has finally come for you to pick ypur partner pokemon! Think this through carefully, your partner is important!"

I slowly stepped forwards towards the three pokemon staring eagerly at me.

"Well," I spoke to myself, "fire IS my favourite starter type, and red is my favourite colour. Also I like cats, so I guess I'll take the fire type, Litten."

"Excellent choice!" the kahuna noted, as Litten leapt off the stage and slowly walked towards me.

Litten took small unsure steps, its nose constantly twitching and picking my scent.

It slowly stepped towards me, I reached out my hands for it to get my scent, Litten seemed to have enough confidence and leapt into my arms. I was not expecting it, but it was surprisingly light, so I managed to hold it up in my hands.

I gently lifted it into the air where it was still twitching its snout curiously at me to read my scent, before it decided I was a worthy trainer and mewled in delight and smiled.

"Looks like Litten finds you worthy!" the Kahuna announced.

"You two are gonna be great together, woo!" Kukui exclaimed.

"We should let you two get to know each other," the Kahuna said, "Me and Kukui have some business to attend to, so we'll leave you two here for now!

"But wait there, is that a sparkling stone you have there?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, it just appeared after Tapu Koko saved me on the bridge in the north of the village." I said.

"Hmmm, those things are rare, but they do not really have any proper function. Unless…" the Kahuna muttered to himself.

"Tell you what, boy! If you could hand that sparkling stone to me, just for the day, and tomorrow you'll get something really special in return! What do you say?" he offered.

"Sure, I guess." I said as I handed the stone to the Kahuna.

As the Kahuna and Kukui headed away from the village, Lillie caught up with me as I was leaving the stage.

"O-oh, so you got your own p-pokemon now?" she stuttered.

"Yup" I nodded.

"I've always admired pokemon trainers, but since I'm not a proper trainer I have to make do with Nebby. It's quite a handful itself, too."

As if on cue, a questionable "Pew?" came from the neatly cut patches of grass in the square. Nebby had escaped. Again.

"Oh, you! Come back here right now!" She exclaimed.

As me, Litten and Lillie chased after Nebby, I realized that I am now a proper pokemon trainer, and that I am now responsible for the safety of my friends. Both human and pokemon.

And I'm ready to take on the challenge.

(Author's note : Sorry for the late update guys! There were some complications. But anyway, now that we've got all the introductions and starter business out of the way, we can get down to the meat of it! It's going to be one hell of a rollercoaster with twists, turns and some major and minor story edits. So be sure to bear with me and stick around for the next chapter! Also, I will be stopping the whole "To be continued" ending thing as it's just cringey as hell. If you have any ideas or comments, please inform me in the comments section. No harmful language to anyone though! This is TheLastSnowflake signing out.)


	4. Battles, Alolan forms, and more friends

Battles, Alolan forms, and yet more friends

After several minutes of chasing, we finally caught Nebby. I was not even out of breath from all my years of exercise and outdoors adventures in Kanto, but as far as I could tell Lillie was more used to an indoors life. When we caught Nebby her face was slightly flushed red and she was lightly gasping for breath.  
"That," I mused, "is one restless piece of work."  
"It always *puff* runs away *gasp* when I'm not looking." She panted.  
We sat down on a patch of grass and caught our breath.  
"So how long have you been looking after Nebby for?" I asked.  
At that point, she suddenly looked startled and panicked.  
"O-oh, um, only f-for about a couple of m-months, I guess." She stuttered.  
"what's wrong?" I asked reassuringly, worried that I may have distressed her.  
"O-oh, never mind." She quickly replied.

At that moment, a boy, about my age, ran over to me from the village entrance. He was around about my height, with brown eyes and long hair dyed green tied up in a mid-ponytail. He was wearing a black T-shirt, orange shorts and orange sandals.

"Hey! You're the new kid here, aren't you? You just got your starter, right? Come on! Let's have a battle! You and me! Let's go!" he said cheerily.  
With that, he pulled a pokeball out of his pocket.

"Well, sure, I guess." I agreed.  
"Golly, I do believe we haven't been properly introduced yet! I'm Hau, and Rowlett's my partner!" he threw the pokeball into the air which Rowlett leapt out from.

Just then the Kahuna came strolling over to us.  
"Oh! Hau! So I see you've got to meet the newcomer already, huh?" he asked with a smile.  
"Sure thing, gramps! And we're just about to battle as well!" Hau nodded.  
"Now, now, Hau. Stephen here only just received his starter today, we should give them time to get to know each other." Hala told Hau.  
"Well, I guess so. Maybe me and Rowlett need some together time too! Stephen, was it? Maybe we can battle at the festival tomorrow!"  
"Sure thing! This will be my first pokemon battle in Alola too." I noted.  
"All right! I'll see you tomorrow then!" he said cheerfully. With that, he walked away with his grandfather.  
"I think the professor will be looking for me." Lillie told me, "S-so I guess I have to go. I-I'll see you later, Stephen."  
"See you around." I parted with a wave.

Later in the day, as I was returning home, I came across a young pokemon trainer. He was only about seven, clutching a pokeball eagerly in one hand.  
"Hey, mister! You wanna battle?" he asked.  
"Well...I guess." I began hesitantly.  
"Come on! It'll be fun!" he encouraged as he threw his pokeball into the air. There was a shower of blue sparks as a Rattata emerged from the pokeball. But this Rattata was different, normally they were purple with a beige abdomen and stood on all fours, this Rattata was black all over, had longer whiskers and stood on its hind legs while constantly sniffing at the air.  
"Is that...a Rattata?" I began.  
"Oh, I see. Kanto trainer huh? There are some pokemon that live here in Alola that are basically cousins of their Kanto counterparts! Rattata is usually a normal type, but here in Alola they have developed the ability to run, stand on their hind legs and the additional typing of dark!"  
"Wow, that's so cool! I didn't even know that!" I gasped in awe.  
"And that's not all! If you're more lucky you can get your hands on an Alolan Raichu! Or, if you are adventurous, an Alolan Marowak!" the kid continued.  
"Very well, I shall see how Alolan pokemon compete against Alolan forms of Kanto pokemon!" I announced. "Go! Litten!"  
I threw the pokeball into the air as Litten leapt nimbly out of the ball, mewled and licked its paw.  
"All right, buddy! This is our first battle here in Alola! Let's make a good first impression!" I encouraged as Litten nodded in agreement.  
"We'll let you make the first hit!" the child announced.  
"Why, thank you! Litten, use scratch!" I commanded.  
Litten leapt nimbly to its feet and dashed with agility towards the Rattata as it raked the opponent with razor sharp claws.  
"Hang in there, Rattata! Use tackle!" the child ordered.  
The Rattata got down on all fours and charged towards Litten, ramming its body into Litten with full force, which sent it flying.  
"Litten! You ok?" I asked. Litten wobbled on shaky legs for a second, before standing back up and dusting itself off.  
"All right, that's the spirit! Now, use ember!" I ordered.  
Litten jumped into the air and started heating up its internal flame. With a spluttering cough, it spat out a small flame that knocked the Rattata off balance.  
"Quick, Rattata! Use tail whip!" the child exclaimed.  
The Rattata leapt to its feet and ran towards Litten. Extending out its long black tail it tripped Litten off balance and knocked it over.  
"Now use quick attack!" he commanded.  
"We're not going down so easily, scratch!" I thought fast and commanded.  
The Rattata dashed with extremely high speed at Litten. Just when I thought Litten wasn't going to make it, Litten returned the attack with another slashing with its claws. This was enough to send the Rattata flying in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, the Rattata lay dazed on the ground. Its eyes turned into spirals.  
"Ooft! Looks like you just wob! Congratulations, mister!" the boy exclaimed as he returned the Rattata to its pokeball.  
"Thanks, that was actually my first battle too!" I noted.  
"Very well, mister, good luck in your pokemon journey! And if we ever meet again, the name's Jimmy. Although I am referred to as the youngster Jimmy. But first, take this!" he passed me 500 pokedollars.  
"What's this for?" I asked.  
"Prize money!" he grinned, handing the wad of money to me.  
"Oh, yeah, forgot about that. Thanks! I'll see you around!"  
"Sure, see you around!"  
As youngster Jimmy walked away, I turned to my Litten, giving it a good pet on the head.  
"Aww, good boy! You did so well! And for a first battle too!" I rubbed it on its forehead as it purred and mewled in delight.  
After a few minutes of petting, I returned Litten to its pokeball and continued on my way home.

When I finally got home, my mom was waiting for me in the kitchen.  
"Welcome back, sweetie! How was it? What starter pokemon did you choose?" she greeted in her usual cheerful voice.  
"It was great. Just had my first battle there. My fire type starter Litten is my partner and he did great out there!" I replied.  
Litten leapt onto the dining table as mom reached out a hand to stroke it. It softly purred in delight.  
"Aww, the little guy loves me!" mom cooed, "He and Meowth will make great friends!" she continued to pet Litten and fed it some pokemon food.  
"Say, mom, there's some kind of festival tomorrow, at the village. Can we go?" I asked.  
"Why, of course, darling! It'll be the perfect chance for you to meet up with new people and make new friends!" she suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall, "But right now in Kanto it's midnight. I'm actually quite tired myself and you should go rest up and fully recover from the jetlag, ok sweetie?"  
I stifled a yawn and stretched, "Ok, mom."  
"That's my sweet little baby! Now come on, get some rest."  
With that, she went to her room.  
"Come on now, Litten, return." I told him. After it Had eaten the bowl of food I held out its pokeball where it disappeared into a ray of blue light and was absorbed into the ball.  
"I should probably get some sleep myself." I muttered to myself as I stood up, stretched again, and strolled into my room.

The next day...  
I had always been an early riser, even when suppressed by jetlag. By 7 AM I was up and running, I had made myself a bowl of cereal and a cup of berry tea. I had always loved berries, as a child in Kanto I would go on walks to the forests and pick berries, which I would gorge myself on for hours on end. Oran and Sitrus had always been my favorite, and I was drinking a cup of Oran-Sitrus tea this morning.  
At around half 7 mom had still not gotten up yet. So I scribbled down a note on a sheet of paper, saying "off to Iki town, festival going on, find me there." And left it next to a plate of toast with Cheri jam that I made for her. After, I checked all my stuff and left the house.  
I was now more familiar with the road. I made my way up the winding paths and the small rocky ledges, past groves of palm trees and berry trees. Then I saw Iki town.  
The whole village was decorated in yellow. Yellow ribbons were tied elegantly onto every available surface, bouquets of yellow flowers were tied together, nearly everyone was dressed in yellow. The whole place was quite simply dazzling.  
I then saw Hau, he had Rowlett on his shoulder and was running eagerly towards me.  
"Morning, Stephen! There you are! You're going to play an important role in the festival today! Come along! Let my gramps explain!"  
He ran off towards the town hall with Rowlett flying close behind him.  
I followed Hau towards the grand wooden building, which was adorned with bouquets of yellow flowers.  
He pushed open the old oak doors and I followed him inside. The interior was welcoming, with beige walls adorned with wooden ornaments depicting a legendary pokemon which resembled the one that saved me on the mahalo trail.  
"I wonder who that pokemon was?" I mused to myself.  
The kahuna must have overheard me because he replied. "That, young Stephen, is Tapu Koko, the guardian deity of our very island! In fact, I believe you two had a run-in on the mahalo trail! I was having a chat with it and it told me how you rushed to help another person without even hesitating. My, my, you really are kind!"  
I nodded with a sheepish grin.

"Now, if I was you, I'd start getting ready for a battle pretty soon, you and Hau are to face off in our traditional battle to appease Tapu Koko himself!" he added.

I spent the morning helping with the decorations and setting up everything, while spending any spare time with Litten. Around about noon the entire village gathered around the stage, there was lots of singing and dancing, and the kahuna stepped onto the stage.

"Fellow citizens of Iki town!" he announced, "we are gathered here today to honor the great Tapu Koko, guardian of our blessed island! Today, to appease the great guardian, our two young trainers here, young Stephen and Hau will compete in a battle to appease Tapu Koko!"  
There was cheering from the crowd as me and Hau stepped up onto the stage, pokeball clutched in hand.  
"The battle will now commence!" announced Hala, on cue we both hurled our pokeballs onto the stage.  
"Alright, Rowlett and team! Let's show them what we have!" Hau encouraged as Rowlett flew out from the pokeball and did a somersault.  
"Okay, this is our first proper battle in Alola! Let's set a good first impression!" I whispered to Litten as I stroked it's head.  
I saw, at that moment, mom in the crowd.

"Good luck, sweetie! And Litten! Take good care of my little Stephen!" She cheered.

I smiled. Mom was always a good source of motivation.

"Okay, Litten, let's start this! Ember!" I commanded. Litten firmly planted its feet in the ground and spat out a small clump of fire.

"Look out, Rowlett! Dodge and use Tackle!" Hau exclaimed.

Rowlett took into the air, missing the ember by millimetres. It did a full spin, then swooped down towards Litten at full speed.

"Use scratch and stop Rowlett!" I called out.

Litten sprung forwards and waved its paws at Rowlett, countering the attack and sending it flying back.

"Hang in there and use leafage!" Hau shouted. Upon this Rowlett twisted and turned in the air and sent a flurry of its grassy feathers furiously flying at Litten.

"You know what to do! Ember!" I called.

Litten growled as it spat out fireball after fireball, burning up the leaves before they got close.

"Dont give up! Leafage! Again!" Hau exclaimed.

This time the leaves were almost unstoppable, Litten slashed at them and coughed up embers, but it just wasn't fast enough. A whirlwind of razor sharp leaves struck Litten and it was knocked off its feet.

"Litten! You okay?" I shouted. Litten looked weak, it slowly stood back up on shaky legs, then snapped out of it, turned around to face me, and purred.

"Alright, that's the spirit! Let's finish this! Fire fang!" I encouraged.

Litten heated up its mouth as it leapt forwards at Rowlett, leaving a trailing blaze of fire in its wake. It rammed into Rowlett with an open mouth seemingly on fire.

There was a veil of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Litten was standing, Rowlett was knocked over, its eyes had turned into spirals.

"Rowlett is unable to battle. Stephen wins!" Announced Kahuna Hala. There was a round of applause and cheering as I was handed a garland made of bright yellow flowers and a crown of sturdy polished oak twigs with the same flowers woven into it.

Hau returned Rowlett to its pokeball and came over to me.

"Hoo-ee! Say, Stephen, that gave me chicken skin all right! We have to battle again some other time! Great job today!"

As if in cue, a shrill call of a pokémon pierced the cheering.

"Tapu Ko-ko-ko!"

Everyone looked up to see where the sound came from.

"The guardian deity says that was indeed a fulfilling battle! Tapu Koko senses potential in these two young trainers!"

There was more cheering and applause as everyone celebrated the birth of the career if two new pokémon trainers.

After the battle, Lillie came over.

"Hey Stephen, you did great back there, um, the least I can do is heal your pokémon for you, I guess." She said softly.

"Of course, Litten is quite tired after battling. Thanks." I responded.

I watched as Lillie sprayed a potion on Litten's wounds and skilfully wrapped a bandage around its paw.

"There. All done" she announced.

"Much appreciated, Lillie. Thank you." I nodded. "Now, let's go join the festivities, shall we?" I asked.

"Oh, um, sure." She replied.

The festival went on, with a banquet and music and dancing. We joined in the festival and had a great time. We only went home when it was dusk.

And in those hours, not once did I see the shadowed figure dressed in black standing on the cliff overlooking the village. Watching my every move...


	5. Chapter 5 : Three gifts

Three Gifts

The next morning I woke up and wearily strolled into the kitchen to see my mother crying.

She was sitting by the dining table, clutching a letter in one hand and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue in the other.

It wasn't right to see her crying as she was usually so cheerful and happy. Something wasn't right.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked as I gently sat down next to her.

"Oh sweetie, it's your father! This...this came in the mail and..." she sniffed and sobbed quietly, breaking off her sentence.

"There, there, mom. What's wrong?" I asked, gently patting her back, trying to comfort her. It upset me greatly to see her so sad.

"Your father...he...disappeared soon after you were born, and I haven't heard from hm since...and then this comes along..." she sobbed as she handed me the letter.

It had my name on it.

 _To Stephen Ketchum, my son._

"O-open it...see what's i-inside..." she stuttered through her tears.

I gently prised open the envelope with trembling hands, attached to the side was a small package. I opened the letter first and read it with shaking eyes.

 _Stephen,_

 _I have heard news that you and your mother have moved into the Alola region. And that you have become a pokémon trainer. I have never been so delighted before in my life. I still remember the day you were born, how charming you looked when I held you. Now you have grown so much, I think you are ready for a little something to help you on your journey as a pokémon trainer._

 _There should be a parcel attached to this letter. Use it well. It will not completely obey you at first. But you need to learn to trust and bond with it._

 _For now you should leave it as it is, don't try to look for it, when the time is right it will look for you._

 _I wish you luck on your journey. I am sorry I can't be there to see you. I hope we truly meet someday._

 _Love you always,_  
 _Dad._

I slowly put down the letter with a sigh. A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Mom, it's nothing too serious...just...just try not to stress yourself too far...dad's probably fine..." I whispered as I hugged my mother tightly.

"Maybe you could go for a walk, help relax. Unwind. Go for a stroll on the beach or something like that." I advised her.

"I have to go, Professor Kukui sent for me earlier on my videocam. I, uh, have to go. I'll see you later mom." I leaned down and kissed her cheek.

I decided to give her some time to herself and silently closed the door behind me. The gentle sea breeze delicately swam past my face as I stepped out into the sunshine. Professor Kukui's place was by the beach down from route 1. I lumped off the ledges for a shortcut, and found my way across the sand to his house.

His house was not quite what I expected, I found myself at a ramshackle wooden hut plastered with boards. Nearly every window was smashed and covered up and the roof looked like it was going to collapse in on itself.

I hesitantly walked up and pressed the doorbell.

A few seconds later there was a crash as the door opened. Kukui stood there in a bit of a daze. His lab coat was dirtied and slightly ripped, his glasses were cracked and there was a bruise on his abdomen.

"Ah! Stephen! Morning!" He was surprisingly cheerful despite looking like he just survived a bomb. "Sorry I look a mess, but I was just training with Rockruff, you see. Come on in!"

I followed him through the door into his living space.

"So, cousin, I have something for you. You heard of the pokédex, right?" He asked.

"You bet! That thing is so well known in Kanto that it pretty much was everyone's childhood!" I replied.

"Well, considering that you recently just took the first step as a pokémon trainer, I thought that I should give you a helping hand in your journey, woo!" He said.

I paused. "You mean...I get my own pokédex?"

He nodded. "None other than the pokédex itself!"

I gasped. I am finally a true trainer!

"But first, I'd like to introduce you to a little companion that'll accompany you!" He announced as he pulled a pokeball from his lab coat pocket and hurled it into the air. "Rotom, come on out!"

There was an explosion of blue-and this time white-sparks as a pokémon I've never seen before emerged in a haze of electricity. It had an orange spike for a body with an eager little face perched on top. Two bolts of lightning constantly zapped out of its sides acting as arms.

"Bzzt! Who? What? Where? Why? When? How? Bzzt!" It gibbered nonsensically as it fluttered its arms in a craze.

The professor laughed, "Calm down there, little buddy! This is Stephen, he's going to be your companion for his pokémon trainer journey! Stephen, this is Rotom, a pokémon native to the Sinnoh region. It has the ability to talk and take control of many electrical appliances! So he's not only accompanying you, he also IS the pokédex itself!"

"Zzrt! I like myself a feisty young one to help out! Nice to meetcha, bucko! Name's Rotom, I'm your pokédex, as mentioned! Zzt!" It hastily spoke.

I laughed at how quickly it was speaking. "Nice to meet you too, Rotom, hope we become great partners together!"

"Now, just before I let you run riot into the world of pokémon, there is one last thing you need to learn, and that is hoe to catch a pokémon!" Kukui told me.

My eyes lit up. "Awesome!"

"Follow me, cousin!" He led me up the beach and towards the route 1 outskirts, where a sporadic patch of grass blew in the breeze.

He ran straight into it and there was s flurry of feathers and grass as a wild pokémon appeared.

It was the same pokémon I saw in Kukui's video chat a few days back, the small black and white bird.

"Now that there, is a Pikipek! Native to Alola only! I'll show you how to catch it! Rockruff, let's go!" He sent out its pokéball and Rockruff came tumbling out, looking ready for battle.

"First, to catch a pokémon, you have to weaken it down with your own pokémon's moves! Rockruff, tackle!"

Upon this, Rockruff leapt forward and rammed into the Pikipek. It went flying and somersaulted back to attack with a peck. However Rockruff shrugged off the damage easily and, upon Kukui's command, used rock throw, and stunned the Pikipek.

"And now, when the pokémon is worn down, you lob a pokéball at it!" Kukui hurled an empty pokéball at the Pikipek and I watched in awe as its body was transformed into blue electrical matter and was sucked inside the ball.

The ball fell onto the grass.

It twitched once.

It wiggled a second time.

There was a click as the pokéball sealed shut. The wild Pikipek inside was now more tame.

"And there you go! Weaken it down, chuck a pokéball, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Easy as pie."

He handed the pokéball over to me.

"For you, cousin. Your first wild pokémon here in Alola! A gift from me! Use it well!"

"Wow, thanks!" I grinned.

Then he glanced at his watch.

"Well, would you look at the time! It's almost 1 PM! We've sure been out for some time. I'll leave you to yourself now, Rockruff and I have some training to get to. Your Pikipek needs to be healed after all that. There should be a pokémon centre down the road from route 1. You know how pokémon centres work?"

I nodded.

"Well then, I guess you're all set! Before you go, take these!" He handed me six empty pokéballs. "See you around, cousin! Until next time!"

I watched as he returned through the beach and entered his house.

Turning the corner, I made my way to my house first, I tried the door. Locked. Mom must have went out for a walk. But that was good because then she has some time to recover and gives me some time to explore Hau'Oli city.

I made my was down the road.

And skidded to a halt.

Out of the corner of my eye...there was...

No...it couldn't be...

A figure dressed in black?

I sharply whipped around, fingers frantically clenching around Litten's pokéball.

But there was nobody there.

I swear I saw somebody dressed in black, I'm pretty sure they had long blonde hair too.

No, my eyes must be playing tricks on me.

After all, I still haven't fully recovered from the jetlag.

That's what I told myself as I made my way to the pokémon centre.

I never saw anything suspicious for the rest of the day. But little did I know that a few yards behind me, taking cover behind a palm tree, he stood there.

And smiled.


	6. Chapter 6 : What, no gyms!

What no gyms?!

I soon realized that something made Alola rather different from Kanto.

There were no gyms.

In Kanto, every pokémon trainer went through eight arenas called gyms that each specialized in a unique typing. They would then face off against the gym leader, a trainer usually more powerful and stronger than the other trainers.

I've heard of the gym leaders in Kanto. Brock, Misty, Lieutenant Surge, Erika, Koga, Sabrina and Giovanni. Who apparently used to be the leader of a villainous team of thieves called team rocket. Though they disbanded several years before I was born.

But Alola didn't have any of these.

In the following weeks, I explored Melemele, and discovered that there were, simply put, no gyms here.

I thought being a trainer was easier than expected, but then one day Kahuna Hala sent for me to explain something I've never heard of before: trials.

That day, I was spending time with Litten in my bedroom, feeding it and gently stroking its fur. Rotom had said that it takes a long time to build trust, but I think it had a strong enough sense of trust in me that it was always comfortable near me.

The doorbell rang just as I fed it a sitrus berry. I returned it to its pokéball and answered the door.

Hau was standing there, with his usual big grin on his face.

"Alola, Stephen! Fine morning it is! My gramps said that he'd like to see you at Iki town for something important! You'd better hurry!"

With that, he turned and ran off.

I grabbed my bag and my pokéballs, then ran after Hau.

. . .

When we arrived at Iki town, the Kahuna was at work in the town hall. He was tinkering away at a small contraption unseen to us.

"Ah, Stephen! Hau! There you are!" He greeted, pulling off a pair of lens-infused goggles, "I have something for you, as promised!"

"What is it, gramps?" Hau asked eagerly.

Kahuna Hala laughed, "Now hold your horses, boy! I haven't even got to the important part yet!"

He stood up from his workbench.

"Now, young Stephen," he turned towards me, "I'm sure by now that you've noticed there are no gyms here in Alola, unlike in Kanto."

I nodded.

"Well, in Alola it's a little bit different. Here we have challenges called trials! In a trial you take on a challenge for each type, and sometimes in the last trial of the island you battle what is known as the trial captain, a trainer who specializes in said type! What's more, you get a special reward for completing trails. You get gym badges for beating gyms in Kanto, right?"

I nodded again.

"When you complete a trial, you are rewarded with a special little crystal called a Z-crystal. Now you'd know by now that in battle, pokémon are able to use four moves at maximum. But something about the environment in Alola has caused the pokémon that live here to develop a capability to use a fifth move, kinda like a sixth sense almost, and that is called a Z-move!"

With that, he held out his hand to reveal two silver watch-like rings. Each with a golden symbol engraved on top, it looked like a two triangles on top of a rectangle.

"These here are Z-rings, without these things and a Z-crystal, Z-moves simply wouldn't function. So I'd like you two to take these with you on your journey! But be aware that to use a Z-move your pokémon must know a move that has the same type as the the crystal. What's more, you can only use one Z-move per battle, so choose wisely."

He handed a Z-ring to both me and Hau.

"Now, the first trial you two are going to take on is the normal type trial in Verdant cavern up north! When you two have completed it, come back to Iki town and I'll tell you what to do next! Good luck!"

We thanked the Kahuna and left.

"Rotom, lead me to Verdant cavern!" I said, Rotom flew out of my bag and flickered to life.

"Bzzt! Verdant cavern, huh? Follow me! Bzzt!" He buzzed.

I followed him down to Verdant cavern, my first stop as a pokémon trainer. 

(Author's note: sorry about the short chapter, guys! I was a little pushed for ideas and had to get the whole Z-move business out of the way. The next chapter should be a bit more action-packed! And things are really starting to spice up too...stay tuned...)


	7. Chapter 7 : Verdant Cavern

Chapter 7

Verdant Cavern

On the way to Verdant cavern, I ran into Lillie.

"Oh, hi Stephen. I heard you were attempting the island trial, aren't you?" She asked in that charmingly sweet voice of hers.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am on my way right now, fancy a walk?" I asked.

"Oh, uh maybe." She agreed.

We strolled along route 2. Discussing about ourselves. I told her how my dad left me as a baby and I have grown up only with my mom since I was half a year old. I told her about how when I was younger I was different than the other kids because I could somehow eat berries-which were normally inedible and some even poisonous to humans-for hours on end. I told her about how I lived in Kanto for nearly 11 years and only moving here for less than a year.

She was a very good listener, and she told me a little about how she doesn't like pokémon battles but loves reading, how she hates seeing injured pokémon, and how she never really remembered her childhood.

All that talking had driven me right through the monotonous and long walk to Verdant cavern, and before I knew it we were there.

Verdant cavern was a huge cave chock full of plant life and bustling with the chatter of pokémon. There was a man dressed in a blue T-shirt and blue cap standing in front of the entrance.

"Alola!" He called over, "you must be Stephen! The Kahuna said you'd be here!"

"Yes, I'm Stephen. Nice to meet you. Is this Verdant cavern?" I asked.

"Indeed!" The man said, "I'm one if the trail guides here, there are a whole team of us of every island to help any trainers undergoing the island challenge!"

He pointed into the cave mouth.

"Now this is where you will begin the trial! One rule though, you are not permitted to use pokéballs on the premises until you have completed the trial! Now on you go!"

Lillie gently tugged on my arm, "Stephen, um, would you mind trying this on your own?" She asked, "I, um, don't really like going near wild pokémon. I don't like seeing them hurt as well. So, could I possibly ask you to do this on your own?"

"Of course. I'm not forcing you. You can wait here if you want!" I told her.

The trial guide led me into the cave.

"So, the way this trial works is that you defeat the three wild pokémon in this cave, then proceed to the totem's den, where you'll face a more powerful totem pokémon! It's actually quite self-explanatory, so you can go ahead! Trial start!" He announced.

I proceeded up the rocky ledges, Litten's pokéball gripped tightly in hand, when I heard the squabbling chatter of a pokémon, before I knew it, it had pounced on me from behind and I was locked into battle.

The wild pokémon looked like a ferret, brown fur with a long blonde patch running down its neck and back. Upon this, Rotom leapt out of my bag and zipped to life.

"Bzzt! That's my cue! Yungoos, the loitering pokémon. Yungoos is a big eater that is never satisfied. The majority of its long body is given over to its stomach, and its digestion is swift, so it's always hungry. It has strong fangs, so it can crush and consume the hardest of objects. Bzzt!"

"So that's a Yungoos, huh? Guess that's one of the wild pokémon I have to take on! Go! Litten!" I threw Litten's pokéball into the air and Litten leapt gracefully out of it.

"Hit it with fire fang!" I commanded. I watched as it leapt forward and crashed into Yungoos with a mouth of blazing flame. Yungoos was knocked back and was struggling to get up.

"Now use scratch!" I told Litten. However Yungoos was expecting this and leapt out of the way. It dug its heels into the ground and rammed into Litten in a tackle.

"You ok buddy?" I asked. Litten pushed itself onto all fours and looked back at me with a smile.

"Attaboy! Ember!"

Litten's back started to perk up as it tucked in its stomach and charged up an ember, I watched in awe as it spat a huge burst of flame and scorched Yungoos, who collapsed onto the ground and fainted.

This went on for another two Yungoos, until I proceeded to a grove at the back of the cave. Where a large bronze pedestal stood with something glittering in the sunshine.

It couldn't have been this easy, could it?

I stepped towards the pedestal.

I stopped.

Something was staring at me. I could feel it.

I've always had this instinct that warns me when something is trying to sneak up on me. It doesn't always work, but this time I was sure there was something staring at me.

 _Watching_ me.

There was a loud screech as I reached out to the pedestal. I doubled back and leapt away just in time as a huge pokémon almost the size of me landed in front of me. It looked like a Yungoos, only this time it was standing on it's hind legs, it's yellow fur now covered its abdomen as well as its back. It hissed and roared at me, trying to defend the crystal.

"Bzzt! Allow me!" Rotom flickered to life again, "Gumshoos, the stakeout pokémon and the evolved form of Yungoos. When it finds a trace of its prey, it patiently stakes out the location, but it's always snoozing by nightfall. But this Gumshoos is a totem pokémon, which means that it's much bigger and powerful than usual!"

"Thanks Rotom! Come on out Litten!"  
I threw Litten's pokéball back into the air, this time Litten looked a little afraid facing off against a huge pokemon.

"Stay strong! Use scratch!"

Litten darted left and right in a frenzy to confuse Gumshoos, it leapt forward and raked Gumshoos in the abdomen. However it merely wiped itself off as if dusting itself and swiped at Litten with a much stronger scratch. Litten went flying.

"No! Litten!" I cried. Litten looked lifeless as it plummeted to the ground, but against all the odds it stood back up and frowned in determination.

"That's the spirit! Fire fang!"

Litten leapt forward and sank it's flame infused teeth into Gumshoos' leg, but it simply kicked Litten into the air again. This time Litten stood no chance and fainted.

"You did well, buddy. Have a nice rest ok?" I comforted it as I returned it to its pokéball.

"My last pokemon left. This is my last hope! Go Pikipek!" I threw Pikipeks pokéball into the air and it flew out, chirping and singing.

"Ok, you're my last pokémon I have left! Use peck!"

Pikipek plummeted towards Gumshoos and jabbed it with a razor sharb beak. Gumshoos was too slow to counter and was knocked off it's feet.

"Finish it! Keep using rock smash!"

Pikipek dived down towards Gumshoos and tensed its beak with enough strength to destroy a rock. Gumshoos swiped and slashed, but Pikipek was just too agile. It repeatedly stabbed at Gumshoos with a beak of steel. Gumshoos was overpowered and fell flat on its front. It was defeated.

I had completed my first trial in Alola!

But that was not all. Pikipek suddenly paused in midair as an explosion of light engulfed everything.

"Pikipek's evolving!" Rotom cried, leaping out of my bag once more.

When the light faded, Pikiped was now bigger, with a longer slimmer head and beak. It's legs were not longer too.

"My turn! Trumbeak, the bugle beak pokémon and the evolved form of Pikipek. Trumbeak eats berries and stores their seeds in its beak. When it encounters enemies or prey, it fires off all the seeds in a burst."

"My first evolution too!" I exclaimed, "this is a good day for us all!"

I reached forwards and gently plucked the Z-crystal from the pedestal. It glinted a silvery grey in the sunlight.

"Alright! My first Z-crystal!"

As I turned to leave, totem Gumshoos weakly stood itself back up and nodded at me in approval, as if to congratulate me.

"Thanks, Gumshoos." I told it, "goodbye."

I turned out of the cave and into the sunlight, where Lillie stood with Nebby, waiting for me.

(Author's note: sorry about the late update, haven't really felt like writing recently. Schoolwork also is a problem. But stay tuned for the next chapter and thank you for your support!)


End file.
